BEAT LA

Tuesday December 23rd 2008 the Celtics win their 19th game in a row 110-91 over the Philadelphia 76er's. Friday January 9th 2009 the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the defending champions  98-83; Boston's fourth loss in a row and seventh out of nine games. Over the span of three weeks and one day a team deemed unstoppable became the question mark of the NBA. On January's final day the Celtics find themselves atop another impressive winning streak after notching their tenth victory in a row over Detroit. After a few tough losses everyone was ready to throw dirt on the Celtics and call it a day, but when it happens again they should know better.

All NBA teams will have strong and weak streches of time either gleamed in winning or mired in losing. The Celtics experienced what is nothing more than the ups and downs of a long 82 game season. Going forward they will enjoy more long winning streaks, stumble losing a few and regain their balance. After the 19 game winning streak this team was tired from their extended road trip and were surely feeling the brunt of their enemies best game every night. Good teams, and especially bad teams can measure themselves against the Celtics; which is how and why you lose to the Bobcats, Warriors, Knicks. Further proving this is the fact that each of those bad teams that were able to defeat Boston all lost their following games. Great, good or terrible the opposition will always galvanize around this idea of taking down the world champions. The only problem is that if the Celtics are rested, healthy, confident, or playing wel or any one of those four and you are going to lose. They are a human NBA team, but there winning streaks are longer than yours and their losing streaks are equally shorter. This Celtic team will have several more losing patches and challenge 19 successive wins again so lets not be surprised.

 In last season's title run the longest losing streak was three games; thus making it an understandable surprise when the 08-09 squad lost 7 of 9. Now they have won 19 straight, lost 7 of 9 and then won another consecutive 12 with none other than the Los Angeles Lakers laying in wait. Ironically enough when the Celtics won their 18th game in a row they were next to face Philadelphia and Los Angeles. A buzzer beating three from Ray Allen lifted the Celtics past the 76er's to extend the winning streak to 12 games, but now they again face the Lakers with a new streak on the line. 

Thursday February 5th 2009 The Boston Celtics will beat the Los Angeles Lakers in a close game. I know this because it is a crucial victory to them in order to establish themselves as  the elite team in the NBA, more than a team who prays upon a weak eastern conference. This is the most telling point of the season for Boston who plays the Lakers and then prepares to face a truly brutal schedule including the Spurs, Hornets, Mavericks, Jazz, Suns, Nuggets, Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic in the next month. This will be a gauntlet run that will determine coveted homecourt advantage and playoff positioning.